Category Archives: Victoria

Public service union refuses to back Labor at Victorian election, condemning job cuts and $1.2bn consultant spend

Posted on by

Exclusive: Community and Public Sector Union denounces ‘privatisation by stealth’, joining growing number of unions turning on Carroll government

Victoria’s public servants union says it will not support Labor at this month’s state election, condemning the government for cutting public service jobs while spending $1.2bn on consultants.

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) will announce the decision on Wednesday, joining several other unions that have refused to back Labor or are actively campaigning against the government ahead of the 28 November poll.

Continue reading...

Political leaders condemn ‘vicious’ alleged baseball bat attack on One Nation volunteer at his Victorian home

Posted on by

Police confirm arrest of 37-year-old and 14-year-old boy over alleged assault in Torquay on Sunday night

Leaders from across the political spectrum have condemned the alleged assault of a One Nation volunteer with a baseball bat outside his home on Victoria’s Surf Coast.

Police on Tuesday confirmed they arrested a 37-year-old Hampton Park man and a 14-year-old boy over the incident, which occurred at a Torquay home on Sunday night.

Continue reading...

‘I want to slap you around a bit, too’: Victorian magistrate reprimanded over language in court

Posted on by

Judicial commission finds against Vicky Prapas over a series of comments, including one made when school children were present

A magistrate who told a court user “I want to slap you around a bit too” has come under fire for her offensive and inappropriate language.

The remark was one of several made by Victorian magistrate Vicky Prapas that the state’s judicial watchdog has found to be inappropriate.

Continue reading...

Storm warnings for Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane as cold front ‘packs a punch’

Posted on by

BoM predicts hail, damaging winds and possible flash flooding across Victoria, NSW and parts of Queensland into Sunday

Storm warnings are in place for multiple capital cities across Australia’s east and south-east as a severe weather front sweeps across the country.

Heavy rain, winds and thunderstorms are forecast to hit Melbourne and eastern Victoria throughout Saturday afternoon as a cold front meets warm, humid air.

Continue reading...

Erin Patterson to die in prison after losing appeal against mushroom murder convictions

Posted on by

Victorian court of appeal rules Patterson should be jailed for life with no parole over deadly beef wellington lunch that killed three people

Erin Patterson has lost her bid to overturn her convictions and been resentenced to life behind bars with no chance of release, as Victoria’s highest court handed down its decision on two appeals regarding her triple murder case.

The court of appeal ruled on the two appeals on Friday, after justices Lesley Taylor, Stephen McLeish and Peter Kidd heard arguments from her legal team and prosecutors in August.

Continue reading...

Police charge accused Brendan Nugent with additional offences – as it happened

Posted on by

Independent MP’s condition remains critical on Wednesday after surgery to save her remaining leg

Anthony Albanese has described the police interview on Tuesday with Brendan Nugent as “extensive” but that the motivation of the alleged “violent” attack against Helen Haines is still unknown.

Certainly, it’s a reminder that the world is a more dangerous and divided place than it was a generation ago.

But I think that Australians do want to see their politicians be able to go about their business, to be able to get something from the back of their car, for goodness sake.

My side, every side included. We all have to recognise that politics has got more aggressive.

The particular impact on women in politics … [They] have got a different form of vilification and aggression towards them as well.

Continue reading...

Brendan Nugent facing three charges over alleged attack on MP Helen Haines

Posted on by

Victoria police arrested the 43-year-old Tarrawingee man on Monday afternoon after the incident in Wangaratta

Helen Haines’ alleged attacker, Brendan Nugent, has been charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally cause serious injury and the commonwealth offence of causing harm to a commonwealth public official.

He will be held overnight to appear at Wangaratta magistrates court on Wednesday, Victoria police confirmed in a statement, adding that it would be alleged the attack was targeted.

Continue reading...

A young life ‘dominated by gambling’: Victorian coroner delivers stinging findings on death of 22-year-old

Posted on by

Online betting was the ‘direct and paramount’ cause behind Kyle Hudson’s decision to take his own life, inquest finds

Kyle Hudson was “a young man brimming with promise”, with a loving and supportive partner, family and friends, and prospects.

“It was a near ideal picture – except for the grip that online sports betting had upon him,” the Victorian coroner Paul Lawrie said on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Mortgage repayments are now cheaper than rent in some Australian suburbs. Is yours among them?

Posted on by

As house prices plateau, the gap between the cost of buying and renting is narrowing in dozens of suburbs

High rents and falling property prices have opened a rare window for Australian tenants to become homeowners, with mortgage repayments cheaper than rent in dozens of suburbs.

Guardian Australia’s analysis of Cotality data shows that median rents in inner-city Melbourne, suburban Canberra and Darwin are now nearly matching weekly home loan repayments.

In one in 10 suburbs and towns across the country, repayments are less than $200 a week higher than rent, for the typical property. In some suburbs, they are actually cheaper.

Continue reading...

One Nation proposes $2,000 baby subsidy in Victoria but says it won’t touch state abortion laws

Posted on by

Announcement comes a day after Liberal and Labor parties say they will cover out-of-pocket costs for abortion care

One Nation has proposed a $2,000 baby bonus for new parents in Victoria – a day after the Labor and Liberal parties both agreed to cover out-of-pocket costs for abortion care.

The deputy leader of One Nation in Victoria, Colleen Harkin, announced the plan on Friday to remove out-of-pocket costs for pregnant women in the public healthcare system and a $2,000 subsidy for those accessing private maternity care.

Continue reading...

Victoria to become first state to make abortions free as Coalition matches Labor election promise

Posted on by

Exclusive: Out-of-pocket costs for abortion care to be covered regardless of who wins November election as Jess Wilson says Liberals and Nationals ‘will not allow Labor to play politics on this issue’

Victoria will become the first state in Australia to make access to abortion care free, no matter who wins the November election, with the Coalition matching Labor’s promise just hours after it was announced as it attempts to neutralise the issue.

The opposition leader, Jess Wilson, on Thursday afternoon told Guardian Australia a Liberal National Coalition government would match Labor’s commitment to cover out-of-pocket costs for abortion care up to 16 weeks’ gestation. This would include GP and specialist consultations, scans, tests or medication, which can quickly add up to more than $1,000.

Continue reading...

Rent-tech platforms sidestepping credit card surcharge ban with new fees and paid ‘memberships’

Posted on by

Tenants encouraged to seek free options after online property platforms respond to Reserve Bank’s credit card payment reform

Online property management platforms are charging renters new fees or pushing them on to paid “memberships” to avoid processing costs associated with card payments in the wake of the ban on surcharges.

Tenants have been encouraged to challenge or bypass additional fees charged by so-called rent-tech platforms, including in Victoria, where fees on rent payments are banned.

Continue reading...

Two Carlton players treated in hospital after off-season night out

Posted on by

Club issues brief statement about Lachie Cowan and Will Hayward, saying latter suffered minor cut to head after a fall

An off-season night out for Carlton football club teammates ended with two players admitted to hospital for treatment on Sunday morning, in what the club says are “separate circumstances”.

The club released a statement on Sunday confirming that AFL players Lachie Cowan, 21, and Will Hayward, 27, had been treated and discharged, after reports in several media outlets about the aftermath of an off-season night out.

Guardian Australia understands both players were both part of a larger group that had been socialising on Saturday evening.

Continue reading...

‘My body is still peaking’: Eliud Kipchoge wins first marathon in three years

Posted on by

  • Kenyan breaks Melbourne Marathon record by two seconds

  • ‘I’m happy to run with the gen Zs,’ 41-year-old says

Marathon’s greatest competitor, Eliud Kipchoge, has sent a message to the next generation declaring that he’s not done yet.

The 41-year-old Kenyan revelled in his Melbourne Marathon debut on Sunday, breaking the race record and delighting thousands of fans at the MCG finish.

Continue reading...

Bachelor star Sam Wood denied bail as police allege he choked wife until she ‘thought she would die’

Posted on by

Court hears police attended Wood’s Victorian home over a similar allegation about three years ago, but Snezana Wood had not complained then out of ‘fear of retribution’

The wife of former Bachelor star Sam Wood told police she “thought she was going to die” after he allegedly choked and assaulted her, a Queensland court heard on Thursday.

The court also heard that police in Victoria had attended Wood’s home in relation to a similar incident about three years ago, but that his wife, Snezana Wood, had not wanted to make a complaint at that time out of “fear of retribution”.

Sam Wood, a 46-year-old wellness influencer from Melbourne, was denied bail in a Queensland court on Thursday and will be held in custody indefinitely awaiting trial, after police argued his behaviour was “escalating” and that he posed an unacceptable risk.

Continue reading...

‘Catastrophic wildfire loop’ after colonisation left parts of Australia more at risk from bushfires, study finds

Posted on by

Researchers found the shift from open woodland to dense forest after 1788 led to more intense fires, consistent with loss of cultural burning practices

The drastic land use changes wreaked by colonisation created a “catastrophic wildfire loop” that rendered south-east Australia more susceptible to climate-fuelled bushfires, experts say.

A team of researchers, working with the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, an organisation that represents traditional owners, reconstructed 1,000 years of vegetation and fire history at Purghagoolah, a lake surrounded by forest in Croajingolong national park in Gippsland, Victoria.

Continue reading...

Former Bachelor star Sam Wood charged with domestic violence

Posted on by

Fitness influencer, 46, faces court on Monday after his arrest in Noosa at the weekend

The fitness influencer and reality TV star Sam Wood has been charged in Queensland with domestic violence offences.

The personal trainer and star of the third season of reality TV show The Bachelor was charged on Sunday and spent the weekend in police custody after an alleged incident on Saturday night.

Continue reading...

Free the Strip! Melburnians fight back against outlawing of much-loved picnic spot

Posted on by

A council ban on drinking on the median strip in Canning Street, Carlton, sparks a peaceful protest featuring punch bowls, chips and laughter

It looked like a typical spring evening on Melbourne’s Canning Street when a few dozen picnickers gathered on the grassy median strip on Friday, with drinks in hand.

People in one group who’d come with a full alfresco setting chattered as they ladled punch out of a glass bowl on a wooden table, set with a tablecloth and yellow flowers in a vase. Others sat on picnic blankets, passing around bags of chips.

Continue reading...

Gas lobby ‘scare campaign’ urges Victoria to scrap ban in new homes, leaked documents show

Posted on by

Exclusive: Australian Gas Infrastructure Group lobbying campaign warns energy bills could increase by $100 unless ban is reversed, despite experts disagreeing

The gas industry has been accused of unleashing a “scare campaign” before the Victorian election as it pressures the state government to reverse a ban on gas in new homes.

A paper prepared by a lobbyist for the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) and shared with ministers has warned annual household gas bills could increase by $100 unless the ban is overturned, without providing evidence to support that claim.

Continue reading...

Datacentres in Victoria to be banned in residential areas

Posted on by

New rules also include a ban near schools and childcare centres and require them to source their own renewable energy

Datacentres in Victoria will be banned in residential areas and required to use renewable energy and contribute to the community under new state government rules.

On Tuesday, the premier, Ben Carroll, will release the government’s sustainable datacentre action plan after it was approved by cabinet on Monday.

Continue reading...